Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusaan's confession that the witness section of party membership forms was filled separately is a criminal offence, lawyer Mahfooz Saeed has said.
The ruling People's National Congress (PNC) earlier admitted that fake forms using stolen personal data and forged fingerprints and signatures were submitted to boost the party's membership.
Ihusaan was today summoned to the People's Majlis to present his defence against a no-confidence motion as the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) believes he led the PNC teams that filled the fake forms.
Responding to the no-confidence motion, Ihusaan said political appointees of the Homeland Security Ministry were tasked with filling out the membership forms as witnesses without the presence of the applicants.
"What they did was, they bring the applicants' forms without filling the witness portion. So what they did there was fill out the witness portion on these forms along with fingerprinting, signing and writing details of these things," he said.
But Mahfooz said witnesses must sign the form in the presence of the applicant.
"Minister Ihusaan said the witnesses portion was filled later. Ihusaan did not see this act of presenting false testimony as a criminal offence," Mahfooz said.
The political party membership forms have to be filled in the presence of witnesses who testify that accurate information has been provided to the Elections Commission (EC).
At today's People's Majlis sitting, Ihusaan said he did not believe it was a criminal offence to fill the witness portion later but that instructions have been given not to fill out party membership forms in government offices in the future.
